


Operation: Stardust

by captaincoffeegirl515



Category: 6 Underground (2019), The Golden Compass (2007)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Consensual Daemon Touching, Daemon Severance/Intercision, F/M, M/M, Non Consensual Daemon Touching, Soulmate AU, how the soulmates work will be explained later, will update tags as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:08:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25530343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captaincoffeegirl515/pseuds/captaincoffeegirl515
Summary: In a universe where half of a person’s soul lives amongst them in physical animal forms called daemons, one man takes it upon himself to rid the world of its evils, starting with Dr. Marisa Coulter and her General Oblation Board.But first, he needs a crew.
Relationships: Five | Amelia/ Six (6 Underground), Four | Billy/Seven | Blaine (6 Underground), Three | Javier/Two | Camille (6 Underground)
Comments: 38
Kudos: 36





	1. In the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This all started when I re-watched the Golden Compass with my sister, and I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. I wanted a fic where the 6U team had daemons. 
> 
> Partway through writing some of the first scenes, I realized I didn’t want this to basically be the same 6 Underground movie except with daemons, so now I’ve put myself in the position where I’m practically writing a storyline from scratch. Oops. There are some references to scenes in the movie, but for the most part... yeah.
> 
> I know this chapter is really short, and I don't even have a full outline on the whole story yet, but I just really, really wanted to get this out. Hope it's alright!
> 
> \-----
> 
> One (Craig) - Field Spaniel (Rowena/Rowe)  
> Two (Camille) - Black-Footed Cat (Aristaeus/Ari)  
> Three (Javier) - Albino Ball Python (Maria-Camila/Cam)  
> Four (Billy) - Great Tit (Philomena/Mena)  
> Five (Amelia) - Blue Poison Arrow Frog (Malachite/Mal)  
> Six (David) - Raven (Annabelle/Annie)  
> Seven (Blaine) - Golden Eagle (Maharlika/Harley)

**SEVEN**

War sucked.

Death was even worse. Especially if it wasn’t your own.

Blaine was sure he would never get over the sight of his entire squadron going up in flames when bomb-ridden ambulances exploded into a million jagged pieces, nor the amount of gold that littered the ground after two dozen daemons dissolved into dust.

Maybe that was why it felt right to fake his death and join these so-called Ghosts.

This time, he  _ will  _ take the shot.

“From now on, you’ll be referred to as ‘Seven’.”

“You mean there’s just seven of us?” 

“Yeah. So hurry up! We still have  _ a lot  _ of work to do.”

**SIX**

David loved the thrill of the chase. He lived and breathed speed. Go fast enough and you could forget your problems and leave all your worries behind. Sitting behind the wheel of a hot-wired Alfa Romeo, he hooted as he lost the last of that mobster’s goons. 

“You see that Annie?” He crowed at the raven as she somersaulted in victory. “We’re free!” 

No more gangsters ordering him around. No more drug runs. No more paying off a debt he will never be rid of.

He was so busy dreaming of the new life they could have that he didn’t notice the incoming car until it T-boned him into a ditch.

**FIVE**

“Huh, a doctor with a poisonous daemon. You don’t see that every day.” The man said as he eyed the neon blue frog on her shoulder.

“Wow.” She remarked sarcastically. “That was  _ so  _ creative. Anyways, if you need anything, you’ll have to find someone else! I just got fired for  _ having  _ a poisonous daemon.” 

She lifted the carton box filled with her belongings and walked out of the hospital. 

The man turned and jogged after her. “Well you’re in luck because I’m hiring! You want to make a difference, don’t you?”

Amelia sat quietly in the backseat as the man drove her home. Tomorrow, she will pack all her meager possessions into his van and then fake her death.

For now, the man who simply called himself One chatted endlessly about nonsense like gobblers, intercisions, and scary golden monkeys.

_ What have I gotten myself into? _

**FOUR**

“Grab my hand!”

Billy knew better than anyone that there was no loyalty amongst thieves. He’s grown up in this business. Lived his whole life stealing, actually. He’s seen what the promise of money could do to even the closest of friendships.

And yet.

He passed out from the pain the moment he landed. Being his daemon, Philomena lost consciousness as well and dropped like a rock from where she had been hovering. But before the small bird could hit the ground, a pair of gloved hands shot out and caught her. 

“Hoo boy.” The stranger said as he walked towards Billy’s prone form. “Good thing I caught you there little one. A fall from that height would’ve killed you.”

**THREE**

It was just a job. A stupid, lousy job that left a young girl without the only parent she had ever known. Now all Javier has is regret.

And after a visit to his mother gone wrong, he was starting to wonder if he would ever be able to atone for his sins.

Now he’s stuck in a car with a madman. A madman who  _ doesn’t have a daemon _ . A madman who is pointing an expensive-looking gun in his face. A madman who is threatening him to join his team of do-gooders and rid the world of all the bad people in it, or die. A madman talking about shit like gobblers, a child-stealing lady with a weird mommy kink, girls riding polar bears, and ‘hey is it just me or does anyone else find it weird that all cops literally have the same kind of daemon?’.

Man, is that guy crazy or what? 

_ I wonder what he’s on. _ He thought to himself as he decided _to hell with it,_ and accepted the madman’s offer.

**TWO**

Camille knew she should have asked what they wanted the children for. She should have questioned why they needed so many. She should have asked a million other questions instead of staying silent as carriage after carriage filled with children passed her team’s inspection checkpoint en-route to the mysterious General Oblation Board.

Now there was blood on her hands and she will never be rid of it. Not in this lifetime, nor in the next hundred.

“Are you really sure we can trust him?” Aristaeus sniffed derisively as he padded alongside her. “He doesn’t even have a daemon!”

“Of course not.” She scoffed. “But he’s the only way we can get the answers we want.”

**ONE**

Craig still remembered the screams. The pain of his intercision. It felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest, and he’s felt hollow ever since.

It took all his willpower to learn to live without his daemon. He started inventing, trying to keep himself busy enough so he wouldn’t have the time to dwell on his loss. And with each brilliant new machine came more money than he could dream of. 

It was never enough.

He’s lost count of the times he looked around expecting to see his daemon sniffing curiously at his latest discovery. Rowena always loved learning new things. She was the other half of his soul and they took her away. They broke their bond, took her away, and left him an empty shell of a child. 

The Gobblers were going to pay.


	2. First Impressions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo! New chapter is finally ready. I am literally posting as I write, so updates will be slow but steady.
> 
> I love hearing your thoughts on this and I treasure every comment!
> 
> \-----
> 
> One (Craig) - Field Spaniel (Rowena/Rowe)  
> Two (Camille) - Black-Footed Cat (Aristaeus/Ari)  
> Three (Javier) - Albino Ball Python (Maria-Camila/Cam)  
> Four (Billy) - Great Tit (Philomena/Mena)  
> Five (Amelia) - Blue Poison Arrow Frog (Malachite/Mal)  
> Six (David) - Raven (Annabelle/Annie)  
> Seven (Blaine) - Golden Eagle (Maharlika/Harley)

Seven tried to distract himself by looking over the random paraphernalia littering the room they were holed up in. After the barest of introductions, Four had been tasked with showing him around the base and going through his legal documents. The young man was a parkour expert, and it showed in every move he made. He had incredible balance, walking with the sturdy precision that reminded Seven of a friend who spent decades at sea. Over the course of their little tour, the freerunner nimbly hopped across rusty plane parts while his daemon, a small bird named Philomena, performed little barrel-rolls and loop-de-loops over their heads.

Now, as Four checked his passport, she hung upside down from his hoodie sleeve and did the most adorable impression of a curl-up.

Proper introductions with the rest of the team would have to wait until One called them all together for their first meeting. But ever since they first met, there was something bugging him about their mysterious leader. Something about the guy just felt  _ wrong _ .

Finally, he couldn’t stand it. “What do you guys know about One?”

Four made a face. “Ehh, not much more than you, really. We know he loves Wally, the dog, and that he’s obsessed with this weird Beaver show. We’ve actually got a bet going on if you wanna put some money into it. We’re trying to figure out what his daemon is. My bet is on a rat.”

“Doesn’t it bother you that we’ve never actually seen her?”

Four frowned. “I dunno. Maybe she’s shy? Or poisonous like Five’s?”

The answer only made him more agitated.  _ Something’s not adding up. _ He began to pace, only slowing down when Harley squawked in protest. “But we’ve seen her daemon. I’m telling you, there’s something off about him.”

“Maybe he doesn’t want her to get eaten?” He ventured.

“What? Why would-”

“Mena.” Four lifted the shoulder his daemon was now perching on, in a half-hearted shrug. “She almost ate Malachite - that’s Five’s daemon, by the way - when they first got here.”

She fluffed up into a ball and chirped in outrage. “It’s not my fault he looked so tasty. I didn’t know he was a daemon back then!”

“He’s a neon-blue colored frog. That basically screams ‘I’m poisonous, do not eat’!”

Seven was shocked. She looked like such a small, harmless bird. But Harley perked up at that, and eyed them with renewed interest. “She eats meat?” 

“Only when she’s really hungry.” Four grimaced. 

“Still impressive to me.”

There was a knock at the door and without waiting for an answer, a guy with a raven perched on his head walked right in. The newcomer had Seven questioning their leader’s choices yet again. Four looked young enough, yet here was another young face.

Four brightened up considerably when he laid eyes on him. “Hey Six!” 

“Hey!” He returned the grin and came over to sit on the table. “Big guy says the meeting’s in ten.”

“Got any idea what the mission will be?”

“No clue, but I can’t wait to drive circles ‘round all your slow asses.” Six threw his head back with a loud laugh, leaving his daemon to quickly change perches or else she’d fall to the ground.

Seven watched the pair with concerned eyes. They did not look like people who had ever seen battle, much less killed someone. They seemed naive and carefree, not seeming to understand the gravity of the situation. “How many missions have you guys done, anyway?”

They shared an awkward look. 

“Uhh none?” Six answered.

After a disbelieving pause, he tried again. “Then when did you guys meet?”

“Today?”

He gaped. “Are you serious?”

“C’mon.” Four groaned in annoyance. “Don’t act like we can’t handle it. We’re grown men. We can take care of ourselves.”

“I’m not saying you can’t. I’m just saying that it’s weird that he’s sending us on a huge mission when we’ve only known each other for less than a day. That’s a disaster just waiting to happen!” He started pacing again, only this time, Harley had to fly to a nearby chair since he was too agitated to slow down. “I can’t believe I faked my death for this!”

Six leaned towards Four and whispered. “Is he okay?”

If eagles could roll their eyes, Harley would be doing just that. “He’s fine.” 

“No, I’m not fine! When I was in the Deltas, we had to train together for months before we got sent on any combat operations. We don’t just throw a bunch of random people together and expect them to get the job done. How are we supposed to know what to expect out in the field when we don’t even know what to expect from each other? How can everything run smoothly with as little collateral damage as possible if our methods contradict? How can I trust that you’ll have my back out there when the shots start firing?”

Four stood up. To confront or to placate the soldier, he wasn’t even sure. “Hey I’m not-”

The door slammed open, making everyone jump. One stared at them impatiently. “What ever happened to ‘meeting’s in ten minutes’? We’re losing daylight. Let’s go!”

\-----

Their headquarters, if it could even be called that, was an old bunker in the middle of the boneyard.

Turns out, there was barely any introduction, just a mention of their assigned numbers and their expertise. The only names given were those of their daemons.

As the last one to be recruited, Seven had a lot of catching up to do. So while One droned on and on about something about boxes, he took that time to study his new teammates. Between Four and Six there was  _ another  _ young face. Five was a doctor, and clearly never held a gun before as she tried to figure out why the wrong caliber bullets wouldn’t load into her handgun, while Malachite peeped out of her pocket said that maybe she needed to push harder. But then again, why would anyone place those bullets near that gun in the first place? Any inexperienced shooter would end up making the same mistake Five was doing right now. 

Then there was Three, a tall, roguish hitman with a sleepy white-and-yellow python draped over his broad shoulders and a bottle of liquor in his hand. Instead of listening, he flirted back and forth with Two, a regal-featured spy who kept petting her cat daemon that was curled up on her lap. According to One, she had worked under the Magistrate, so she would have the most intel regarding their target. Last but not the least, there was the man who brought them all together. Other than his grudge for their target, he remained a complete mystery. No clue as to his past and still no daemon in sight.

One sighed at the lack of attention. “The numbers are there for a reason. It’s for our own safety and so that no one gets too close. That means no dating. We can’t afford any distractions. I’m already doing you a huge favor by allowing you to call your daemons by names, so try to keep that in mind. Also as a reminder, please refrain from eating each other’s daemons even though you think they look yummy. I’m talking to you specifically, stress-ball.” He pointed at the tit, who fluffed up in outrage.

Finally moving on to something more important, One threw an open file on the table they shared. On it were several photos of a dark, looming building with the letters G.O.B. arcing over the entrance, many having different groups of sad-looking children lined up for a haunting school picture. Then he dropped another two photos. The first one had a blond, white woman in an expensive gown, and a golden lion tamarin daemon perched primly on her shoulder. The other showed a balding, salt-and-pepper-haired man whose imposing figure was only shadowed by that of his daemon, a tigress.

He pointed back to the woman's photo. “Our main target is Dr. Marisa Coulter. She’s the head of the General Oblation Board, and what they do will shock you to the core.”

Seven stared at the man. “Is there a reason you’re starting to talk like a clickbait article or am I about to find out I’ve been set up on the most fucked-up prank in history?”

“What? No! Maybe I just felt like saying it like that. Is that a crime now?”

“Oh my god, I can’t believe I agreed to this.” Five rubbed her temples. A migraine was starting to develop.

“Hey, the Gobblers are a pretty big deal! Maybe I want to up the drama a little-”

“Just get to the point, motherfucker!” Two snapped. “You said you know a way to stop them. Now talk!”

“Wait. Gobblers?” Seven couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He remembered his aunt used to tell him stories about them when he was a kid. The scary monsters that stole naughty children in the dead of night. “Seriously? I’m here because of some boogeyman?”

“Look, that’s just what they’re known as.” One desperately tried to get everyone back on track, to no avail.

Six perked up. “Oh, I remember that name! A kid I knew said his cousin was taken by them. One moment he was there, the next moment -  _ poof  _ \- gone without a trace.”

“You know, that’s what he called them when he was trying to recruit me.” Five pointed out.

“Me too.” Three shrugged, taking another swig of tequila. “I thought that was just so kids would listen to their parents.”

“They’re real.” Four spoke up, his face looking pale and haunted. Then he scoffed. “Of course, none of you would know about the Gobblers. Your people weren’t the main targets.”

“‘Your people’?” Seven leaned closer to him, eyebrows furrowed in worry.

Instead of replying, he turned to stare at the ground with a sad look in his eye.

“Many of the children were Gyptians.” Two murmured quietly, almost as if in apology. “We were told they were runaways.”

“Runaways? You thought they were runaways?!” His face flushed in anger and he rose from his seat to loom over her. “We  _ love  _ our children! What the hell makes you think they’d run away?”

The others exchanged looks, at a loss on what to do, until Seven took hold of Four’s arm and pulled him away from her.

“Hey, we’ll find them.” He said as gently as he could. Hand still on the blond’s arm, he turned to One. “That’s why we’re here, aren’t we? To find the kids and stop Coulter from doing it again. Right?”.

He nodded, relieved to have everyone’s focus again. “Yup! Long story short, she kidnaps kids and uses them for her evil plans. Our first priority is with Bishop Rovach Alimov in Geneva. He’s been secretly funding Coulter and making sure she has a steady supply of kidnapped children. He has all the intel we need and keeps it in a neat little book so they can’t be tracked online. So the plan is...” 

\-----

In a few hours, they were all packed and heading straight for Geneva. Once the plane reached cruising altitude, One set it on autopilot and went to check on the rest of the Ghosts.

“We’ll be landing in about 2 hours. I hope you’re all ready for what we’re about to do.” He said, oddly staring intently at the way Mena and Annie played tag around Harley’s larger frame.

Unbeknownst to him, Six leaned closer to Five and passed her a few bills. “I bet it’s a bird.”

“Yeah I’m ready!” Three laughed, gleefully waving a thin paperback entitled ‘Easy Italian in 5 Minutes’.

Groaning, Seven dropped his head into his hands. “We’re all gonna die.”

For some reason, Four felt a strong pull towards the soldier. A strange desire to comfort him and put him at ease. He came over to sit next to the sniper and softly elbowed him. “We’re not gonna die, we’re gonna be like those Deltas you keep talking about. We’re a team now. We’ll watch each other’s backs.”

Two smiled at the pair. “Like a family.”

“We’re not a family.” One scoffed and immediately stalked back into the cockpit.

“Geez. What crawled up his ass?” Ari harrumphed, climbing onto Two’s lap for a belly rub.

Harley stared hard at the back of One’s head. “Who is he anyways?”

“All I know is he’s a rich guy who snapped.” Five shrugged while the others nodded in agreement.

_ That’s it? _ Seven shook his head. There had to be more to this mystery. “So how’d you meet him?”

“We didn’t.” Four rolled his eyes, recalling that fateful day. “He met us. In really weird ways.”

Leaning forward in his seat, Six chimed in with his own experience. “Not just weird, it was ‘perfect timing’ weird. Like, right after I escaped the guys chasing after me, he crashed his car into mine and got me to join him while he was pulling me out of the wreckage.”

The blond let out a laugh. “That’s weak. I fell off a building in Ukraine and woke up strapped to a chair with a gun pointed at my face. Said he’d kill me if I didn’t join him.”

Seven’s face revealed his horror. “Damn, I never thought I’d find a family more screwed-up than mine.”

“Ooh careful! He hates that word.” Three joked in a theatrical whisper, jerking a thumb towards the cockpit.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Two carefully studied the other blond, “how did you end up there? That’s nowhere near any Gyptian settlement.”

He shook his head a little, unsure of how much info he was allowed to give. “I just- I wanted to find them, the missing kids. Pretty stupid decision really, since I didn’t know where to start. Bribery was the best way to get answers but I’d need more money than I could dream of just to get the smallest clue on where they were.” 

This time it was Seven’s turn to return the favor. “Now you got us. We’ll help you find them.”

“What does she even need all those kids for?”

Two sighed sadly, making Ari purr even harder to comfort her. “I wish I knew.”

From his place in the pilot’s seat, One stared long and hard out the window with an inscrutable look in his eye. But for a tiny moment it almost looked… lonely.


	3. The Book

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I feel like there’s only one person other than myself that wants to read this story, and it makes me feel sad. I feel like this story is not good enough or just too different or too weird for people’s taste. I’m at a loss on what to do right now but all I know is that I’m not gonna stop writing this until the whole thing is finished.
> 
> \-----
> 
> One (Craig) - Field Spaniel (Rowena/Rowe)  
> Two (Camille) - Black-Footed Cat (Aristaeus/Ari)  
> Three (Javier) - Albino Ball Python (Maria-Camila/Cam)  
> Four (Billy) - Great Tit (Philomena/Mena)  
> Five (Amelia) - Blue Poison Arrow Frog (Malachite/Mal)  
> Six (David) - Raven (Annabelle/Annie)  
> Seven (Blaine) - Golden Eagle (Maharlika/Harley)

The plan was simple. A small group comprised of One, Two, and Five would go in and get the book that Bishop Alimov kept locked up in a hidden alcove on the wall behind his desk. Four and Seven watched from a good distance away and acted as an extra set of eyes. Lastly, Six and Three were the getaway drivers for the former and latter groups respectively. It was simple and straight to the point. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Of course, as Murphy’s Law states, “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”.

Four scanned the rooftops with a pair of binoculars while trying to hold in his laughter at hearing Three say Italian phrases to himself and have his daemon, Cam, repeat them back to him. The hitman didn’t seem to realize that he wasn’t on mute.

Through his scope, Seven could see as the three entered the building and quietly made their way to Rovach’s office.  “Room’s empty. You’re clear to go.” 

They had made sure to check the Bishop’s itinerary for that day, and he was currently in a meeting. Nobody wanted to be in the same room with an angry tiger. 

So naturally, that was exactly what happened.

Just as they managed to jimmy the lock and stuff the book into One’s bag, a hidden side-door swung open and in walked one Bishop Rovach Alimov. 

Everyone froze in place, staring tensely at each other until Rovach stepped back, letting his daemon take front and center. 

She growled menacingly, sending shivers down their spines. “Who are you?”

Before they could reply, Rovach snapped at her. “Don’t bother with questions. Kill them all!”

The tigress rolled her eyes and then roared, leaping with sharp teeth and claws bared at the nearest person. Time seemed to slow down to a halt and Five felt paralyzed with fear, unable to control her limbs enough to move away.

Then Two took action, pushing her to the side and taking the brunt of the blow. She flew backwards, blood splattering onto the floor from three large gashes that ran across her stomach. At the same time, Ari gasped from the pain radiating from her and he barely managed to avoid another one of those powerful swipes.

Behind the tigress, Rovach wiped his hand over his clothes, clearly feeling the revolting effects of having your daemon touch another person. Then when the bullets started flying, he ducked and hid behind a large cabinet.

“Two!” Five screamed in horror, rushing to her side and dragging her to relative safety while One ended up on the opposite side of the room.

He fired shot after shot at the daemon in an attempt to distract her from going after the pair. “We got the book! Let’s move!” One ran for the door but backpedaled just as quickly when guards appeared at the entrance and started shooting at them.

From their earpieces, all the others could hear were curses being yelled nonstop as they tried to avoid the enraged animal. One already emptied two clips into the beast but nothing seemed to do the trick.

Alarms blared across the building, making One groan.  _ Great. More problems. _

“A little help over here!” He swore. They had barely gotten started but it already seemed like everything was racing towards a painful end. 

_“Hold on! I have an idea.”_ _Bullets can’t penetrate the thick hide of a fully grown tiger, b_ _ut they were quite effective on people._ Seven’s mind raced. The Magistrate will be severely pissed when they find out, but they’ll have a replacement up in no time. Hopefully, it would be Rovach’s more peace-loving brother, Murat.

He took careful aim at the filing cabinet the Bishop was hiding behind, estimating where the heart of a grown man of Rovach’s stature would be, and pulled the trigger. They couldn’t see where Rovach was hit, but they could hear it: a man and his daemon screaming together in shared pain. Then in the next second, the man dropped to the ground and his tigress burst into a cloud of golden dust.

One took a moment to catch his breath. “What took you so long?”

_ “You’re welcome.” _ Was his smug reply.  _ “You guys better get moving, there’ll be guards swarming you in no time.” _

“You think I don’t know that?” 

One and Five helped Two stand, and together they half-dragged half-carried a rapidly-paling Two through the hallways.

Outside, the men on watch duty worked together in sync. Four pointed out the guards and soldiers coming after the trio, and Seven took them out one after the other, clearing the way for the three.

It was only when Six finally drove off, that they could let out a relieved sigh.

“They’re in the car now. Let’s go!” Seven called out, already packing his gun. In the distance, they could hear sirens wailing. No doubt they were police, hired goons that worked for the Magistrate - or as Four liked to call them, pigs.

Speaking of Four, the man nodded then swung over the ledge, easily scaling down the side of the building to land on the truck Three was sitting in. He looked up as Seven made use of the fire escape, and called out jokingly. “You taking your time or something?”

The sniper shook his head, trying to hide his smile at how impressed he was. “Thought I might take the scenic route for once!” He snarked back, making the freerunner bark out a laugh.

“Enough flirting, lovebirds! We need to get moving!” Three cackled at the awkward silence when neither man dared to deign that with a reply. The only thing that made him laugh louder was when One’s aggravated voice came through the comms.

_ “I already said no flirting!” _

\-----

Tires screeched across the pavement as Six dodged gunfire and bystanders while attempting to lose the cars tailing them. They zipped through narrow roads and zigzagged around busy streets while One fired back and mocked the cop’s bad aim.

“Yeesh! Would it kill them to stop shooting wildly? There are civilians all over here!”

The backseat was just as hectic. Two was in severe pain, bleeding profusely from her injury, but as much as Ari wanted to comfort her, he needed to stay away so that Five could examine her properly and they could avoid any accidental touches. After a minute or two, the doctor cursed loudly and in multiple languages.

“What’s going on?” Six called back, worried at her tone of voice.

“Two’s bleeding out and I’ll need to do some emergency surgery.”

“I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming.”

She smiled grimly. “We’ll need to stop the car. My things are in the trunk.”

Already calculating the perfect route, he nodded. “Got it.”

“No, we don’t ‘got it’. We’re not stopping the car.” One ordered, making everyone voice out their shocked displeasure.

“She will die if we don’t!” Even now, the scarf she’d pressed against the wound was completely soaked in blood.

“If you haven’t noticed, we’re still in the middle of a car chase and-”

“Either you let us stop the car or I am going to shove Mal so far down your throat that the froth comes out of your ass!”

Mal scoffed. “No need for shoving, I’ll jump in willingly!”

Suddenly, Six spun the car around a corner, neatly parking it between two buses and hiding it from view. After a sharp ‘go’ from him, Five hurried outside and rifled through the trunk. Cars sped past, clearly missing them.

At One’s furious look, he raised his hands and an exaggerated shrug. “What? It was already in our way!”

Then Six turned to give Five an appreciative look as she slid into the backseat with her medical kit in tow. “That was kinda hot actually.”

“Thanks.” She smiled shyly, unused to that kind of attention, then quickly got to work. Two hissed as Five dug around her stomach, and had to grit her teeth to keep from cursing.

One looked back and forth between Five and Six with narrowed eyes. “I already said before that we’re not here to get comfy-”

“What? We’re not allowed to give compliments anymore?!”

“Now that we’re Ghosts? No, you’re not.”

Six rolled his eyes in exasperation.

_ “C’mon man,” _ Seven’s voice came up over the comms,  _ “we’re supposed to be helping each other. That’s what a team does, so suck it up and let Five do her job.” _

One sank down in his seat, groaning in annoyance at everyone’s insistence on bonding and making friends. It took all his willpower to pretend it wasn’t affecting him, as if this small group of ghosts weren’t already chipping away at the walls he’d set up to keep people away. “Fine! But if we get caught, it’s all your fault.”

The sniper smirked to himself and shared a grin with the two other men in the truck.  “Duly noted.” 

\-----

They all met up at the rendezvous point without much fanfare, unless you counted the part where Six misjudged a turn and ended up crashing the vehicle into a forklift.

All the dust kicked up by their arrival nearly sent One into a coughing fit. He groaned and turned around to check on the others. “Shit. Everyone okay?”

“Yeah.” Was Six’s weak reply. One of the forks had gone through the windshield, narrowly missing his head. “Almost died, but yeah.”

Five worriedly pressed a hand against the new stains on Two's bandages. “We’ll be better once we get back to the plane. Two isn’t out of the woods just yet.”

From outside the car came a fearful voice. “Are they-”

The front passenger’s side door flew open and Seven’s worried brown eyes looked over the group. After a moment, his shoulders sank with a relieved sigh. “They’re okay, Four.” He answered.

He held out his hand and helped One out. Beside him, Four did the same with Two.

Three stood by the truck and yelled at them to hurry. The sounds of sirens were getting louder by the second as everyone ran to safety. 

“Oh shit!” Six suddenly yelled from behind them at the same time Harley screeched out a warning. “Get away from the truck!”

Everything went to hell in an instant, when a missile flew over their heads and the getaway truck exploded into a ball of fire and metal.


	4. Close Calls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot! I am on a roll with this chapter! Although I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep this up.
> 
> As always, comments are greatly appreciated! Tell me what you think!
> 
> \-----
> 
> One (Craig) - Field Spaniel (Rowena/Rowe)  
> Two (Camille) - Black-Footed Cat (Aristaeus/Ari)  
> Three (Javier) - Albino Ball Python (Maria-Camila/Cam)  
> Four (Billy) - Great Tit (Philomena/Mena)  
> Five (Amelia) - Blue Poison Arrow Frog (Malachite/Mal)  
> Six (David) - Raven (Annabelle/Annie)  
> Seven (Blaine) - Golden Eagle (Maharlika/Harley)

One came to with a groan, breathing in smoke and coughing up dust. He was on his back for some reason, and there was this godawful ringing in his ears. Then a weird blob appeared over him. Oops. No, that was Five. Shouting who knows what at him.

“... u hear … e? One!” She snapped her fingers in front of his face, her own was pinched taut with worry and fear. Slowly his hearing was coming back to him, and he could hear Seven yelling orders from somewhere in the carpark, trying to get the group into some semblance of control. Five shook him wildly. “C’mon! I said-”

“Yes, I can hear you.” He rolled over to check his surroundings. Either the shockwave had thrown him there or somebody actually went through the trouble of dragging his sorry ass behind some pillars and far away from the main fight. He grimaced, not wanting to believe it had been the latter even though it was definitely the most likely answer. They should have left him to die and made their escape, not act like sitting ducks while waiting for him to wake up. This was why he made them use numbers in the first place! They weren’t supposed to get attached! “What the fuck happened?”

As Five explained, in the most miraculous of miracles, most of them hadn’t been close enough to be seriously hurt by the explosion and subsequent shockwave. They only had to worry about Three, who already began to move away when he saw someone aiming a missile launcher in their direction, and Ari, who had run up ahead of the group and hadn’t noticed the incoming attack until it was too late for him to turn around. One had the misfortune to get knocked out when he was thrown back and slammed head-first into the ground.

“Then you should’ve just left me behind and escaped!” The doctor gaped at him in disbelief as One scolded her. “The mission is more important th-”

_ “Are you seriously still going on about that?” _ Seven interrupted his rant. _ “We’re a team, dipshit. Nobody gets left behind and that’s an order!” _

“Hey! Nobody’s giving orders around here except me!”

_ “I dunno man,” _ Four piped up in Seven’s defense,  _ “it didn’t look like you were awake enough to be giving orders back then. If it wasn’t for him, we’d be dead.”  _

_ Are they  _ all  _ ganging up on me now?! _ One internally griped. But reluctantly, he had to admit that Seven did an incredible job while he was out. Thanks to his leadership, the Ghosts managed to bring the number of enemy combatants from about two dozen down to eight cops who were now hiding behind their cars. He sighed loudly, and judging by the smile Five was giving him, he knew the others would be sporting their own grins as well. “Fine! I’ll let it slide this time.”

_ “Good, cuz right now we need to split up. Can’t stick around til their backup comes along.” _ Seven scanned the slowly darkening horizon outside. Already he could see the flashing red-and-blue lights in the distance.

One nodded. “Ugh, good idea. Everyone, pair up and get moving.” 

“Six! With me.” Four grabbed the driver and pushed him up onto a platform. Together they moved skyward, climbing over the railings to the next floor. Similarly, Five left One’s side so she could take hold of Two and help her stumble down the fire escape.

Slightly miffed, One ran to where Seven was. Together, they fired more rounds at the barrier of police cars, giving the others some time to get away before turning and sprinting down the ramp. 

“Three, get moving!” Seven yelled as he ran.

Three tried to follow the women, but quickly backpedaled as gunshots flew by in front of him. Instead, he was forced to run after One and Seven’s retreating forms down the exit ramp. Surprisingly, he didn’t have to run very far. By the time he got to the floor below, One and Seven had already broken into an old minivan. Its common, dark blue color was a welcome sight after the bright, neon green sports car Six had chosen earlier. As Three got the vehicle started, One updated the rest of the team.

“We got a car, heading down the exit ramp. Where’s everyone?” 

Seven held on tightly to his daemon as they sped off, leaving before the cops could get a chance to see their new getaway car.

_ “You guys can pick us up then.” _ Five panted breathlessly, and they could hear gunshots over their comms.  _ “We’re heading to the bottom of the stairwell. Two’s just taking care of the cops following us, then we can meet you outside.” _

Three nodded to himself. “Yeah. Sounds good.”

Knowing Two, they didn’t have to wait that long before the pair stumbled through the door and into the minivan.

Once they were properly settled, Seven called out again, a little worried at radio silence from the remaining two. “Four? Six? What’s your status?”

_ “We’re on the rooftops-”  _ Four grunted as he landed, then turned to wait for Six.  _ “Heading southeast. If I remember correctly, there’s a library up ahead of us and we can get down through the fire exit.” _

“I see them!” Cam, Three’s snake daemon, craned her body out of the pocket she was balled up in and pointed her nose towards the sky. Almost as one, their eyes followed her and they looked up at the structures to the right.

Four and Six were running across the top of an unfinished building, heading towards the old library. There was one guy left on their tail, a hulking giant of a man who seemed to have lost them for now. Still, the runners didn’t want to risk him catching up and finding them.

They were doing well until they came upon a large gap between the buildings, too large to jump across.

Thinking fast, Four grabbed a long plank from some nearby scaffolding and stretched it out across the gap, creating a narrow bridge. He waved Six ahead of him. “Go! I’ll hold it steady.”

“You sure?” He hesitated, not wanting to leave the blond behind.

“I’ll be fine, now go!”

“Hurry!” Mena cried as she circled over their heads with Annie, urging him to cross faster. “He’s getting closer!”

Six just managed to jump down from the ledge when he heard Four scream behind him. The cop had tackled him, and together they fell into a safety net below. Even worse, he couldn’t go back to help since the plank he’d just crossed was knocked away in the struggle and lay in pieces scattered across the ground.

The air was knocked out of Four’s lungs when his back hit the net and the cop landed on top of him. Still dazed, he tried to fight back but was stopped by a hand on his throat. 

“I’m gonna kill you slowly and painfully.” The man grinned and squeezed harder, egged-on by how Four struggled helplessly underneath him

Mena flitted anxiously above them, unsure of what to do. She knew she was too small to do any damage against the cop and didn’t want to make Four uncomfortable by touching the other man. But before she could do anything, a large mandrill leapt down and snatched her out of the air. It was the cop’s daemon, and it watched with blood-thirsty eyes as the cop strangled Four. 

As Four’s face turned white and the movements of his limbs began to slow down, Six turned to his daemon, wanting desperately to help his friend. “Do you think you can fly over?”

Annie eyed the distance between the buildings. “Won’t it be too far?”

He shook his head. “Not that far. There’ll be some pull but we’ll live.”

_ “Six, you know the rules!” _ One yelled into his earpiece.  _ “Count your losses and get moving!” _

“I’m not leaving him!” He spat, disgusted at how little One cared. “Annie?”

“I’m on it!” She flew across the gap and started attacking the cop and his daemon. 

“Get away from him!” The raven yelled as she dove at and away from the cop’s head, trying her hardest to peck out the man’s eyes and distract him, hopefully giving Four a chance to gain the upper hand and escape. It almost worked the first time, when the cop hadn’t anticipated her arrival and jerked his head back, allowing Four to sip in a little bit of air. 

But it wasn’t enough. The cop recovered all too quickly and started bearing down even harder. Then the mandrill struck again, managing to grab Annie with the arm not holding Mena. It pinned her down, strangling the raven in a way that mirrored the cop’s own actions. 

The mandrill had Six’s daemon in a crushing grip, which meant he couldn’t breathe as well. “An-nie…”

Collapsing on the rooftop floor, all he could do was writhe in pain, scrabbling at his neck against an unseen force. There were so many loud, angry noises coming from his earpiece but he couldn’t decipher any of it over the roaring in his ears. Six watched as Four stopped moving.

“No!” He yelled. As if that would do anything.

Suddenly, the cop’s head swung back, blood spraying from a new bullet hole in his forehead. The mandrill disappeared in a cloud of golden dust, and as one, Six and his daemon gasped in much needed air. 

After several agonizing seconds, Four finally started to breathe again. Across the gap, he curled up on his side, coughing harshly as new air burned its way down his throat.

Six looked down and saw his other teammates standing by the idled car. He shared a look with Four, knowing the other man was thinking the same thing.

Someone down there defied One’s specific orders. Someone down there got One to stop for them. 

Someone down there just saved their lives.


	5. One Helluva Backstory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be a short filler chapter. This was supposed to be just a filler chapter, oh my god. I’m finding it really hilarious that it’s also the longest chapter I have so far.
> 
> Hi everyone! So I’ve joined a couple of fic exchange events and that’s going to be taking a lot of my focus away. Updates will be a lot slower for now, but rest assured, I will finish this fic! Thanks for being so patient with me and thank you for all the kind words!

By the time they all climbed into the plane, Seven was fuming. And when he saw how Four shakily pulled up the armrest between his and Six’s chairs so that they could curl up against each other with their daemons held tight their own arms, he couldn’t hold it in anymore. The ring of bruises around the blond’s throat burned after-images into his retinas. He grabbed One by the lapels and slammed him into the wall.

“You said you’d let me take the shot when I needed to.” He seethed. “What the fuck was that?”

“That wasn’t the time f-”

“The hell it was! They could’ve died back there and you were just gonna abandon them!?”

“Yes!” One threw his hands up in exasperation, ignoring the fact that Seven was still holding him against the wall. “I’m glad they’re alive and all, but they need to understand that this mission is more important than any of us.”

“The mission can’t be done if we keep throwing each other under the bus at the first sign of trouble. We have to be a team, meaning no one gets left behind!”

“This isn’t the fucking Deltas anymore! This isn’t a team! This is just a bunch of people I hired to get a job done!”

“Harsh words for the people who just saved your life too.” Seven pointed out.

“There’s a reason I gave you numbers! Yeah,” he hissed at Seven’s mocking ‘oh really?’ and jabbed a finger against the soldier’s chest, “it’s so I don’t get attached to people who are bound to die someday. You are all numbers to me and it will stay that way!”

“You know what? Fuck your numbers!” Seven scoffed in his face. Then he turned to look at Four and Six. “You two. What are your names?”

“Don’t say it.” One warned. “Don’t you fucking dare say it.”

They both looked between the two older men, unsure of who to listen to.

When Seven saw how nervous they were, he tried to calm his anger at One. He let go, eyes softening as he turned to them. “My name’s Blaine. What’s yours?”

“He made us stop the car.” Cam spoke up, making Three huff out a laugh and mutter. “Yeah, by pointing a gun at me.”

After a heavy silence, Four answered softly. “I’m Billy.”

“Billy.” Seven smiled, testing out the name on his tongue as if he was savoring a good brandy.

“My name’s David.” Six added, prompting a chain-reaction as the rest of them proudly announced their own names.

One sighed heavily, letting his head fall back against the wall. “Great. Just what we needed.”

“Your turn, asshole.” Seven turned back to face One. “What’s your name?”

Another deep sigh. “Craig.”

“And your daemon?”

He seemed to deflate before their eyes. “I don’t have one. She’s dead.”

Behind Seven, everyone was in varying degrees of shock.

“How is that even possible?” Two voiced out what everyone was thinking. “If your daemon dies, you should be dead too.” 

“They call it an ‘intercision’. It’s a fucked-up experimental procedure that permanently separates people from their daemons by cutting the bond they share. You don’t share their pain anymore, you don’t get that awful feeling when people touch them, and you don’t die when they do.” He shrugged, trying to act nonchalant about the thing that traumatized him for life. “As far as I know, it only works on kids. Then again, that was decades ago so things might’ve changed.”

“So the Gobblers…” Four’s voice matched the horror he felt. “They did this to you? To the children they kidnapped?”

“Yep. Except all the other kids I knew committed suicide shortly after. Couldn’t handle not having a daemon anymore.”

“But you did.”

“Revenge kept me going.” One turned to glare at him and Six. “That’s why I said this mission was too important to get attached and stop for someone who can’t keep up.”

Four ducked his head down, ashamed, and Seven felt the sudden urge to defend him the same way the freerunner did at the carpark. “If we work together as a team, we won’t have to worry about losing anyone. We’ll cover each other’s blind spots, we’ll watch each other’s backs, and no one will get left behind. Simple as that. Clear?”

“Crystal.” One rolled his eyes. He should have known the soldier would be this persistent. “So now that we’ve all gotten to know each other’s names, what’s to stop you guys from taking it further, huh?”

Six shrugged, sharing a look with Five. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind-”

“Absolutely not! We cannot have any dating within the team!”

“What if you’re soulmates?” Two spoke up in a quiet voice, her eyes were distant as if lost in thought.

“That’s even worse!” One gave everyone a warning look. “And I forbid you all from testing that out with each other.”

But the rest perked up at the thought.

Three clapped his hands joyfully. “You cannot deny two soulmates from each other! It’s hard enough as it is to find yours. And once you do, nothing short of death can keep you apart!”

“I said no, and that’s final!” One cried before stalking off to the cockpit. “If anyone needs me, I’ll be studying the intel on the book we got.”

The moment the door slammed shut, Five turned to Two. “How do you know if you’re soulmates? Is it true it has something to do with your daemon?” 

She hugged Ari close, her eyes straying towards the hitman as she nodded. “It’s the opposite of what you would normally feel when a person touches your daemon. If it was your soulmate, you would feel safe and warm.”

“Yeah.” Suddenly, Three grew unnaturally silent as he remembered what happened back at the carpark.

_ “Look out!” Three dove to the side and wrapped his arms around Ari as the explosion ripped through the air. He felt the heat burning through the back of his jacket and he thanked the stars that Cam was safely tucked inside his front pocket. Then the shockwave hit, flinging him away like a ragdoll.  _

_ He doubted the tiny cat could have survived that, and it seemed so did Ari, as the daemon looked up at him with a mix of gratefulness and caution. _

_ Off to the side, Two was picking herself off the ground and she froze, staring in shock at Three. Wrapped in his arms lay her daemon, Ari. So the homely warmth she felt enveloping her was- _

_ “You...it can’t be.” Two’s voice felt like a whisper over the cacophony of sounds. _

_ Three looked up to see her eyes on him. Then he realized where his hands were. With a yelp, he jerked himself away as fast as his aching body would let him. _

_ “I’m sorry! So sorry! Everything just went so fast, I had to touch him and-” Bullets suddenly ripped past Three’s face, making him flinch. Right. He had forgotten about the cops. _

_ “Get to cover!” Seven yelled over the sounds of gunfire as he dragged an unconscious One behind some pillars. _

A little weirded out by Three’s distant stare, and wanting a distraction, Six turned to his seatmate. “Wanna test it out?”

Four laughed. “With me? I thought you were more interested in-”

“Of course with you!” He blushed like a ripe tomato, knowing he’d been found out. “Annie, what do you think?”

She hopped down to stand on his lap. “I think it’s a terrible idea. But go on, have your fun! It’s not me who’ll be feeling the nasties anyway.”

Farther away, Ari shook his head. “That isn’t going to end well.” He said. To which, Two shushed him with a smile.

Feeling giddy, Six reached up to touch Mena while Four did the same to Annie. Immediately, the two grimaced and snatched their arms back, jumping away from each other with grossed out yelps and shudders.

Three roared with laughter while Two shook her head fondly at the pair. 

“Looks like you two aren’t soulmates.” Five teased, silently pleased that that was the case.

That made Four grin widely, and he gestured between Six and Five. “Then maybe you two can try it!” Laughter spilled from his lips when the two immediately refused while simultaneously throwing shy looks at each other.

Suddenly, Maharlika brightened up as she had the most wonderful idea. “I want to try!” She spread her wings and flew at Four, ignoring Seven’s ‘Harley, don’t you dare!’. Both men froze when she landed on the blond’s shoulder, and her claws gently dug into his hoodie as she shifted around enough to get comfortable. 

Mena shrieked in outrage as her perching space just got a whole lot smaller. She chirped and squabbled from the other shoulder where she sat, as the eagle gently groomed the blond’s hair and nuzzled his cheek. 

Weirdly enough, Seven didn’t feel anything wrong as she continued to play with Four’s hair. Normally, having someone touch your daemon felt awful. Once, during an incursion, he ended up in a life-or-death wrestling match with an enemy combatant, and the man grabbed Harley. Immediately, the worst feeling engulfed him. It felt like that time back when he was still a private and he accidentally fell into a maggot-infested corpse. Absolutely disgusting. But here and now,  _ nothing _ . Well, his lips felt a little warm and tingly, but in a nice way. And that was it. It was almost unreal.

Philomena looked the golden eagle up and down. Maharlika was probably 30 times her size but that didn’t dissuade the tit one bit. She flew up so she was standing on top of Four’s head and puffed up protectively. “Back off goldy! This is MY head!”

“Oooh, you’re so cute!” She gushed. If eagles could smile, she would be grinning widely as she looked over the two. Instead she ruffled her tail-feathers happily.

“I’m not cute! I’m threatening you!”

Then Four brought his hand up to run a finger down the eagle’s back, and it felt like warmth trailing down Seven’s spine. The kind of warmth that made his dick twitch in interest. No maggots or grossness, just warmth and joy. And he knew what  _ that  _ meant. 

_ Oh. _ He thought.  _ Oh no. _

His eagle turned to him. “Anything wrong?” She asked innocently. Four also watched him, confused about his reaction, or lack thereof.

“Nothing?” He asked with a hopeful lilt that he would deny to anyone who asked.

Seven snapped out of his revelation. “Uhh no, it’s not nothing. It’s called ‘acting’. Don’t wanna crush your dreams that harshly.”

All of a sudden, Six started coughing in a way that sounded suspiciously like ‘denial’.

“What was that?”

“Nothing Blaine!” He replied sweetly. “Just, all that smoke really did a number on my lungs.”

Feeling grateful that his dark skin masked his blush, Seven made a beeline for his daemon and quickly plucked her from her perch. “Anyways, that was fun! Now we should probably be going and getting some rest!”

“Where are you going to go?” Three teased the soldier while feeling ecstatic that he wasn’t the only one who’d found their soulmate. Now if only Seven would suck it up and accept that. “We’re all stuck in this plane together!”

Four felt slightly jealous and impressed as he watched the soldier. The eagle was heavy, yet Seven made carrying her look so easy.

Harley just scoffed when Seven decided to choose the seat farthest from Four. “Just admit it! You’re soulmates!” She proclaimed, making the two men choke on thin air and the tit puff up even more.

“Not a chance! You’re not mating with ‘im, sunshine!” Mena shrieked.

The door slammed open with a loud bang, making everyone jump. One glared at the group. “What did I just say about soulmates?!”

Five pressed a hand against her chest. “Do you ever knock?!”

_ I am surrounded by children.  _ One massaged his temples. “I already said absolutely no dating or relationships between us, and especially no soulmates! Just because we told each other our names doesn’t mean I’m letting you off the hook if any relationship drama happens.” He pointedly glanced at Seven and Four, to which the latter rolled his eyes in response. 

“Don’t worry, One.” Four snorted, and he looked Seven up and down appreciatively. “I’m not really into older men.”

Seven reared back in offense. “Excuse me? I’ll have you know that I am only 32 years of age! Older men, my ass!”

“That’s seven years older than me! You’re practically ancient!”

“That’s it!” One stalked up to the group, took a seat next to Seven, and held a book aloft. It was the one they’d stolen from Bishop Rovach. “Since you all seem to be incapable of being left unsupervised, we’re gonna have a group study!”

As one, they groaned, but were all ears when One started relaying the important bits he’d discovered.

“The good news is that I found out where the kids are! The bad news is that it looks like we’ll be going way up north to a place known as ‘the fields of evil’, Bolvangar.”

\-----

As much as Billy wanted to just storm into Bolvangar, guns blazing, and rescue the children, he had to admit that One had a point. Camille - oh how he’d grown fond of saying their real names - was still injured, and gravely so. Even he was stuck nursing a bruised and sore throat after his brush with death. They needed the whole team to be at their best for the upcoming mission.

But instead of training, the biggest competition seemed to be on who could break One’s stiff lone-wolf facade when it came to the team.

Over the next month, the Ghosts took the time to bond, which rankled One to no end. They learned that David had done some work as a barista, and he made the best coffee blends - possibly the only kind of coffee One enjoyed. Javier loved to bake. And whenever he could, he would hand-feed small pieces of cake to Camille - a move that never failed to make the others hoot and holler. They learned that Amelia used to play video games to relax when she wasn’t working. Blaine preferred to cook, treating the team to home-cooked meals that his father taught him. Unsurprisingly, Billy knew how to weave nets and baskets, and he made knots with a short line of rope as a way to calm his fidgety hands.

Javier, Blaine, and Camille also took the time to teach the younger trio about self-defense and marksmanship. It came as a bit of a shock that Amelia had the best aim - something that she put down to her steady surgeons hands. But it was no surprise to anyone that David would compliment her the most about it.

Billy, on the other hand, loved to tease Blaine. He would pretend to need help with his stance and aim, somehow getting Blaine to stand behind him in order to show him how. Almost instinctively, Blaine would wrap his arms around the blond to shift him into the correct position. And just like that, Billy only needed to turn his face a little to the side, and their lips would be a hair’s breadth away. The air would thicken considerably as they stared into each other’s eyes. Blaine was still in denial about their status as soulmates, but Billy was every bit as stubborn as the soldier. Then One would speak up and loudly complain, making them jump apart, and he would only stop when Javier teased him about being jealous.

One would never tell anyone, but that month was the happiest he’d ever been in a long time.

But now came the hard part: Bolvangar. He pored through every page, memorized every inch of the compound, and nitpicked every detail of his plan. But something felt off. There was something about the book that wasn’t showing him the full picture, and he just knew it was gonna come bite him in the ass sooner or later.


	6. Children, Children

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi y’all! I’m back! I still have one more fic exchange to do, but I got that story under control. Now I can continue writing all my other wips!
> 
> So this chapter is where the story really divulges from the 6 Underground movie. I can’t just keep mooching scenes off from it forever, now can I? Hopefully it still continues to keep your attention! Also, bonus points if you know where I got the names for the kids and the Gyptian fleets!
> 
> As usual, I love to hear what you think of this!

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.” One’s smooth voice sounded over the speakers, mimicking the announcements made on commercial flights. “We’ve just reached cruising altitude and are en route to Bolvangar, ETA two and a half hours. I am now turning off the seatbelt sign so you can continue doing whatever shit you’ve been doing while we were climbing. Thank you!”

Billy rolled his eyes. As if he’d been able to concentrate on much ever since they took off. David and Amelia were chatting excitedly nearby, and even their daemons were enjoying all the gossip. Blaine and Harley were napping at the very back, while Camille and Javier were joining the mile-high club in the cramped restroom - and for a moment, he felt a twinge of pity for their long-suffering daemons. Even One sounded light and cheery as he brought them closer and closer to the place where nightmares took physical form.

It made absolutely no sense to Billy. It seemed like everything was in complete contrast to how he was feeling. He couldn’t stop his leg from jiggling uncontrollably, and his line of rope was getting frayed. Even Mena was getting antsy, flitting nonstop from armrest to armrest and showing no signs of slowing down.

“Do you think they’re safe?” Mena had asked him earlier. By that, she meant ‘not forced to have an intercision and be separated from their daemons’, but he didn’t know what to say. Honestly, he’d rather not think about it at all. 

It’s supposed to be a simple mission - or at least, One made it sound simple. They’d sneak in, find the kids, then sneak them out.

Simple right?

The rope broke apart in his hands, abruptly halting his train of thoughts and making him swear loud enough to make the others look up from their conversation.

David was ready to come over, worried eyes giving him a once-over. “You okay?” He asked. Everyone knew how important this mission was to the Gyptian.

“I’m fine.” He grit out, quickly getting up from his seat. He just needed to get out of there. 

Billy made his way to the cockpit, ignoring the sounds coming from the restroom.

To say One was surprised when Four dropped down on the co-pilot’s seat would be an understatement. But he kept quiet, watching as the younger man doubled over and ran his fingers through his hair. 

Four groaned, leg bouncing erratically while his daemon twittered softly as she tried to tame his messy locks and bring it to some semblance of order.

Unsure of what to do, One opted for an awkward, “You doing okay, kid?”.

“If this is where you ask me if I’m afraid,” he lifted his head, wide-eyed and ashen-faced, “well, I’m shit-scared.”

“Yeah, you sure look like it.” One quipped. Internally, he winced, but snark was the only way he knew how to respond whenever it came to serious topics. “Intel is at least a month old by now. Who knows what security measures they’ve added in the meantime.”

“Great. Just what I needed to hear.”

It clearly wasn’t, and One knew that. He chewed his lip, trying to think of something nicer to say. But before he could even begin to fix the problem, Four shot up from his seat and marched out of the room.

\-----

It was easy enough to bribe one of the many truck drivers delivering goods into the compound to let them hide out in the back. Two didn’t even need to threaten him. The man just shared one look with his fox daemon and shrugged before waving them in. According to him, he was not being paid enough to care about the downfall of his employers. A few wads of cash, a little rearranging so they wouldn’t be seen, an embarrassingly mediocre security check later, and they were in.

The G.O.B. had probably expected them to strike a lot sooner, back when the intel was still fresh. But as the weeks passed with no sign of an attack, the Gobblers began to drop their guard.

Still, the Ghosts didn’t want to risk having more chances to be discovered. As part of One’s plan, he had the driver arrive late at night and before the guards were rotated, ensuring that the guards would be too exhausted to make more than a cursory check. And while Two, Six, and Seven branched off to set the explosives, the rest of them silently made their way into the building holding the children.

“Alright kiddos, rise and shine!” One flicked the lights on and clapped his hands loudly as they entered the dormitory, startling the children to wakefulness. A few of the younger ones burst into tears. “We’re busting this joint and you all need to get dressed and come with us ASAP!”

“We don’t have to go anywhere with you rogues!” A regal, dark-skinned girl with long, black curls spoke up. She looked to be about 16 and wore the same identical pajamas that the other kids had. With her daemon, a pygmy falcon, she stood protectively between them and the rest of the children. Her warm brown eyes were tempered with caution. “What makes you think we’ll trust you?”

One rolled his eyes dismissively instead of allowing Four to calm her down. “Listen kid, we don’t have time to explain. You need to get moving now!”

“No, we don’t!”

“Hey guys,” Three called their attention as he double and triple-checked his counting, “is it just me or are there more kids than we thought?”

Five agreed. “There’s at least fifty children in here.”

“Doesn’t matter.” One snapped. “We need to get moving.” 

This was not the answer the protective young girl asked for, and it frustrated her to no end at how the adults kept ignoring her. She raised her chin proudly. “We are not going anywhere until you tell us who you are! I am Kashmira Bulsara from the Phoenix fleet, and I demand an explanation. How do we know that you’re not just another group like the Gobblers?”

Before anyone could respond, Four heard an excited little shriek, and his heart dropped down to his stomach when he recognized the pair of blond braids barreling into his chest.  _ Eleanor. _

“Billiard!” His sister’s voice was slightly muffled by his chest, but he could tell that the others heard her loud and clear from their confused echoes. She hugged him even tighter, her canary daemon mirroring her action with Philomena. “I knew you’d find us!”

“His name is Billiard? Like the game?” Mal whispered to an equally bewildered Five.

Just like the horror sinking in, Four sank to his knees. “Elbow, what are you doing here?” He quickly checked her over, internally rolling his eyes at the Ghost’s parroting cries of confusion. 

“Inside joke.” He quickly explained. 

“Gobblers grabbed me in broad daylight, right in front of everyone! Just last week! They tried to get Louisa too, but she jumped off the dock before they could reach her.” Eleanor shook in his arms, face red with fury. “Those bilge-rats keep getting more and more brazen every month.”

One was getting impatient and he needed to put a stop to their chat. “As much as I like this little reunion of yours, we need to get going. Get the kids dressed and let’s go!”

This time, Four stepped in before Kashmira could snap at One. He spoke to the child as sincerely and respectfully as he could. “I’m Eleanor’s brother, Billy Taylor from the Nightjar fleet, and these are my friends. They’re not Gyptian, but they helped me find this place after I left the fleet to look for our missing children. You can trust us.”

Kashmira looked to Elle, who nodded in confirmation. At last, she relaxed her stance. She smiled, relieved that they were being saved, and called for the other children to get dressed into warm clothes.

\-----

“Panserbjorne.” Three exclaimed in disbelief as a trio of the large bears dove into the fray and ripped their plans to shreds the same way the creatures ripped the heavy main gate from its hinges. “They have fucking pansers!”

_ Why can’t things just go smoothly for once? _ One griped as he urged the children faster. He shot down another guard that was reaching for a young boy’s daemon. Just another fifty yards, just get through the opening to an icy labyrinthine passage, and they’ll be home free.

They had been caught red-handed as they stepped out of the building. A chance encounter with a guard that randomly decided to take a different route, and now they were working against the clock to get the children to safety. They didn’t even have time to plant all the bombs they needed to turn the whole compound to rubble.

It was easy enough keeping the guards at bay. Dr. Coulter must have made sure that no harm was to come to the children, since most of the guards had yet to draw their firearms in fear of accidentally hitting a child.

But now, with the surprise addition of the tanks-on-four-legs, they were hard-pressed to keep themselves between the children and the Gobblers.

_ “Kids are through!” _ Five yelled into her comm, the relief evident in her voice as Three led the children through the maze. Now the rest of them just needed to pull away and retreat.

Easier said than done. With the children out of sight, the guards had no qualms against drawing their weapons and firing wildly. And it’s not like they had much cover in the barren, snowy wasteland that was Bolvangar. With the panserbjorne flanking them from the other side, they were trapped fighting on two fronts, and it was getting harder to keep track of both of them.

They needed a diversion. Something to draw their attention away long enough for the Ghosts to slip past the guards.

“Look out!”

By the time Seven heard Four’s warning, the charging panserbjorne was right on top of him and all he could do was brace for impact. But the blow didn’t come from where he expected. Instead, he was pushed to the side and Four took the hit meant for him.

Four flew back like a limp ragdoll and slid several feet across the thick snow before coming to a stop. He wasn’t moving, and Mena was nowhere to be seen.

“Billy!” He cried, struggling to his feet. The three panserbjorne were now between them, blocking his path, and there was no way he could get to the blond’s side.

_“Seven, let’s go!”_ One was screaming at him to move. Here was the opening he was asking for - one of the worst kinds.

“I’m not leaving without-”

_ “If we get caught, then everything will go to waste.” _

Still, he hesitated. “But-”

Someone grabbed his arm. It was Six and he had tears in his eyes. The others were further away, but they looked just as distraught. 

“Please! I don’t wanna lose any more people.” The young man begged. 

“I saw Mena fall into the snow and there was no dust.” Ari spoke up, his words easing their despair. “They’re not dead, only unconscious.”

Two sighed, relieved. “Then we will go back for him. But we need to be alive to do that.”

Tearing his eyes away from Four’s motionless form felt like the hardest thing to do. But he did, and Seven sprinted after the rest of the group.

Noticing their exit through the narrow gorge, the guards took careful aim at the heaving mass of white above them. There was a burst of fire, then silence. 

For a moment, time stood frozen - like the world itself was holding its breath. Then the avalanche started. Ice and snow fell into the gap with a thunderous roar.

“We need to jump or we won’t make it!” Seven yelled to Six as they ran.

Just before the wave of snow blocked the path, Seven expertly dove through the gap and tucked himself into a neat roll, just like Billy taught him. Six hesitated, and was lost under the sea of white.


	7. Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blaine is sad, Billy deals with microaggressions, and One makes a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop! All done with fic exchanges! Now I can focus on this… and my many other wips… heh heh
> 
> As always, I love to hear what you think!

The mood in the plane was miserable. In one fell swoop, two of their own had been put out of commission. There also were a lot more kids than they’d anticipated, crammed in the jet like sardines in a can. What was supposed to be the rescue of twenty children at most, became one of nearly fifty. And with all the extra weight, they would be hard-pressed to get the plane to lift off safely. Not that it mattered since they wouldn’t have enough fuel left over to reach landfall. 

While Two and Three passed out blankets, One marched straight for the cockpit and locked himself inside. Whether he was kicking himself for his failure to keep the team intact or if he was just planning to abandon Four and find some way for them to fly away, no one knew for sure. But it worried them nonetheless.

Six and Annie were still out cold - neither of them having even so much as twitched since they were pulled out of the snow. Five took charge and wrapped the pair in thermal blankets, placing a heater nearby in order to warm the two up slowly. Now there was nothing they could do but wait. 

They made it. The children were free.

But at what cost?

When Elle learned that her brother had been captured, she screamed at them for leaving Billy behind and marched off to get him back. Blaine had to go after the girl and bring her back to the plane where she broke down crying. He held her tight, trying to give her some comfort even though he himself was still reeling from his own personal loss. If it hadn’t been for Billy, it would’ve been him, and the guilt ate up at him. Now his... dare he say it? His teammate- friend-  _ soulmate  _ was in the hands of the G.O.B.. And even if he wanted to rescue Four, there was no way he could do it alone. Heck, there was no way he could do it even if the whole team was there to help him.

He’s spent all this time denying their connection. And now? Now it feels like he’s too late.

Harley nudged him with her wing. She could feel the strong emotions churning in him and was growing worried “Penny for your thoughts?”

“I’m an idiot.”

“Penny for thoughts I don’t know?” She snarked, making him bark out a small laugh.

The sight of Billy lying motionless in the snow flashed before his eyes again, immediately sobering him up. “I need to go back for him. No matter what it takes, I need to make sure he’s okay. I won’t be able to forgive myself if he-” He broke off, not daring to finish the sentence.

“He’s alive.” Elle spoke up, her voice resolute even though it was hoarse from crying. “I know my brother. He’s a fighter.”

\-----

Meanwhile, the General Oblation Board was on high alert. They scoured every inch of the compound, managing to find several military-grade explosives, but not a single clue as to the whereabouts of the missing children.

Dr. Coulter looked up as her head nurse entered her office, his harried appearance making it clear as to the nature of his message. 

“Prenter. You better have answers as to where my children are.”

He sighed, nervously eying how her daemon watched his chihuahua daemon with a sinister glint in its eye. “Not quite yet, but we know who they are and our men are close to pinpointing their location.”

“And? Who took my children?”

“Gyptians.”

“Gyptians?” That came as a surprise, but not wholly unexpected. Gyptian children had been their main targets since they belonged to nomadic people that were often ignored by governments. Surely at some point, the Gyptians would have had enough. “I thought they were too cowardly to step foot on Bolvangar.”

“Not enough, apparently.” He handed her a photograph they had taken of their captive intruder. “This one identified himself as a Gyptian on our security feed. A Billy Taylor, ma’am.”

“He’s younger than I expected.” She murmured, noting cheeks that still had some baby-fat in them, and striking green eyes.  _ Quite handsome for a Gyptian. _

“And a rowdy one at that.” Prenter added with a grimace, rubbing the bruises on his arms.

She rolled her eyes.  _ What a drama queen. _ “So what are you waiting for? Bring him in.”

Two guards pushed Billy to his knees in front of Dr. Coulter’s table and held him down as she studied him with interest. Another guard placed a small birdcage on her table. At this, Coulter let out a small laugh.  _ Of course, the Gyptian’s daemon is a bird. _

She steepled her fingertips together, looking every bit like a stern headmistress of an elite boarding school.

“Mr. Prenter has informed me that you’ve been causing problems for my staff.”

Billy scoffed. “Staff? More like prison guards.”

“Although I’m not sure why he’s surprised.” She continued talking, breezily ignoring his jab. “Gyptians were always such rude little savages.”

He bared his teeth. “Let me go and I’ll show you just how savage we can be.”

Coulter smiled tightly while her daemon started pacing back and forth across the desk, itching for a fight. “I think not. All I want to know is where you’ve taken my children and-”

“ _ Your _ children?!” If it wasn’t for the guards holding him back, he’d have launched himself at her so he could wipe the smug look off her face. “You’ve got some nerve. You’ve been stealing our kids - Gyptian kids - for decades, and you think that gives you some right to say they’re yours?! Bullshit!”

“I don’t like that tone you’re using with me, young man.”

“Yeah? What are you gonna do about it? Give me a spanking?” Billy taunted her, mocking her obsession with being seen as a maternal figure. 

“I demand respect-”

“You don’t deserve any respect after what you’ve done to all those children!”

She glowered for a moment then turned to look at Philomena in her cage. Instantly, it was like she had become a completely different woman. 

“Oh, how adorable!” She cooed as she reached, hand ungloved, into the tiny birdcage and grabbed Philomena.

Immediately, Billy could feel the wrongness surrounding him. It was like he was being swallowed in tar. He fought against the guards but couldn’t get free. “Don’t touch her!”

“Let go of me!” Mena screamed and pecked at Coulter’s hand, trying to make her stop. But it just made everything worse. 

Coulter squeezed the bird tightly, making it hard for Billy to breathe. She began to scold the daemon, voice like honey-sweet poison. “Behave little one! You don’t want to upset me, now do you?”

She smoothed down Mena’s feathers and Billy could feel every stroke like phantom hands going down his spine. He whined and arched his back, trying in vain to get away from the sickening touch. 

“Stop touching her!” He pleaded.

“Oh? But I haven’t even gotten started.” She laughed lightly and continued to pet the terrified bird.

After what felt like days, Coulter was finally satisfied. And when she threw Mena back into her cage, Billy gasped with relief, his body shaking from head to toe. If it wasn’t for the guards holding him up, he would’ve hit the ground a long time ago.

He felt violated. 

Coulter knelt down in front of him and placed a hand on his cheek, her ice-cold fingers making him flinch back. “Now are you going to behave for us?” She asked him sweetly.

Her smile quickly turned into a horrified gasp when Billy spat at her face. Behind her, Prenter’s daemon started whining, and Prenter himself took a step back.

After wiping the glob of saliva off her, Coulter nodded to a guard and they punched Billy in the stomach. Billy doubled over coughing as the air was knocked out of his lungs.

She sneered down at him. “Your little Gyptian friends won’t be too far away. And once I find them, I’ll make sure you have a front-row seat to their deaths. Now I don’t want to ask this again. Are you going to behave for us?”

He bared his teeth again. Even though a part of him still wanted to argue - that there was no way she would find them, that the Ghosts would be back to rescue him, that they would make sure she pays for all the pain she’s caused - and say anything to make Coulter upset, Billy simply nodded.

“I can’t hear you.” She sang.

After a minute, his shoulders dropped in defeat and he croaked out a small, “I’ll behave.” 

“Good Gyptian.” That was enough for Coulter. She patted his head like one would do for an obedient pet, then Billy was finally led back to his cell.

\-----

After more than five hours of waiting, Blaine was at his breaking point. He needed answers, and he needed them right now. He stood up, ready to march for the cockpit. But right as he did so, the door swung open and One motioned for them to get in. It was cramped, barely managing to accommodate five grown adults plus their daemons. Then One shut the door, effectively cutting them off from the children sleeping across every available inch of the jet.

Noticing all the eyes on him, One threw his arms to the side in a full-body shrug. “What?” 

“What do you mean ‘what’?!” Blaine blurted out, incredulous at One’s question. “We should be asking you that! What the hell were you even doing in here?”

“Look, I needed to think, okay?”

He could not believe what he was hearing. “You locked us out for five hours because you needed… to think.”

And he wasn’t the only one feeling frustrated. Camille grit her teeth and massaged her aching temples. Amelia looked just about ready to murder One. Javier looked skyward, silently praying for some patience.

“Let’s face it,” One spoke carefully, as if they were a bomb just ready to blow - which was close. “We’ve been hit hard, and we’re in no condition to be storming a compound guarded by panserbjorne.”

“No.” Blaine felt his heart drop to his feet. After all they’d been through together, was One really going to abandon Four just like that? “I swear, if you’re telling us to leave Billy-” 

One held up a hand to silence him. “Let me finish. I’m saying we can’t go back for Four on our own. It would be suicide to do that.”

“How is that any different from what Blaine just said?” Amelia shook her head in confusion.

“Because we won’t be doing it on our own.” Then he paused for dramatic effect. He sighed, shaking his head. “I can’t believe I did this, but I’m breaking my own rules.”

It was obvious Javier spoke for everyone when he began to yell. “Oh for fuck’s sake! Spit it out!”

“Alright! Alright! Yeesh, the dramatic arts are so underappreciated nowadays.”

“One,” Camille’s voice was steely, “you have until the count of three to tell us what is going on before I shoot you.”

“I sent a message to the Gyptians, okay! Told them we found their kids… and about Billy.” He raised his hands in surrender while noting the shock on everyone’s faces. “They’ll be here by morning.”

Things seemed to be looking up. With the Gyptians helping them, they’d have more than enough numbers to keep the Gobblers and panserbjorne busy.

For the first time since that disastrous mission ended, Blaine found himself grinning. “And you said you didn’t have a heart.”


	8. I Need A Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ghosts have teamed up with Gyptians to rescue Four from the dastardly clutches of Dr. Coulter’s General Oblation Board. But will it work? Or will they be too late?

_ They’re beautiful. _ Blaine thought as he watched the Gyptian ships arrive. Twenty-one large vessels and a scattering of smaller boats had responded to One’s call, sailing at full speed through the cold night for the chance to see their children again. The Gyptians moved in a formation that reminded him of migrating geese - in the shape of a V, with the strongest ship in front, taking the brunt of the turbulent waves and protecting the weaker ships behind it.

And they were beautiful, with their intricately carved designs and brightly colored sails that were spread wide like wings in flight. They belonged to the same nomadic people, yet each ship’s personality shone through as every boat still managed to look completely distinct from one another.

There was one Gyptian standing against the side of the leading ship, one hand holding onto a line of rope, while the other hand reached down. Their body was nearly horizontal as they skimmed the waves with their fingertips.  _ That must be the lead navigator. _ Blaine remembered from the many stories Billy had told him.

Most sailors avoided this strip of sea near Bolvangar. It’s waters were choppy and full of hidden reefs that had capsized many ships in the past. But these were Gyptians, masters of the sea, and they expertly navigated the treacherous waters.

As the boats drew closer, someone gasped beside him.

“Look!” Amelia cried, pointing to the Gyptians swinging in between the masts and climbing along the netting as they worked in sync to bring the ships through the narrow inlet to where they had agreed to meet. “That’s amazing!”

“Now we know where he gets his balance from.” Camille remarked, amazed at how steadily they moved even though the waves were tossing their boats left and right.

In no time at all, the ships were docked and Gyptians came ashore to meet the Ghosts.

“Baba!” Kashmira squealed in her excitement. She quickly left the warmth of the plane to rush towards the throng of adults, and was lifted into the air by an equally ecstatic man dressed in yellow. In an instant, the rest of the children followed suit and made a mad dash after her. For a good while, the only sounds in the air were those of joy.

\-----

While they waited for the Gyptians to settle down, Five decided to go inside and check on Six again. During the short flight to the harbor, he’d finally woken up. And now, their resident doctor had yet to stop fussing over him or Annie.

When One complained about how attached she was becoming, she snapped. “He’s my soulmate! What do you expect?”

“What do you mean you’re soulmates!?” He groaned.  _ Of course they didn’t listen to me! _

“We tested it out. I touched Annie, he touched Mal. Then I made him wash his hands thoroughly because he would die if he accidentally touched his face after that.”

“I thought I said not to-”

“But it’s real, One! I’ve- I’ve never felt anything like that before! I was happy and safe when Dave touched him. We’re soulmates, and there is nothing you can do to stop us!”

“That’s our girl!” Three cheered from the sidelines, catching One’s attention and making their long-suffering leader want to curse even more.

“You know what? While we’re on the topic of soulmates, since when did this start?” One pointed between Two and Three accusatively, particularly at their interlaced fingers and their daemons who were cuddled up to the  _ wrong  _ person.

Two shrugged nonchalantly. “About a week after we stole Rovach’s book.”

“I let her pet my snake. If you know what I mean.” Three said, wagging his eyebrows suggestively. 

Not for the first time, Cam wished she could roll her eyes. But alas, she was a snake. All she could do was to reach out and smack him with her tail. “Don’t be so obscene!” She scolded.

One could feel the beginnings of a migraine. “You actually touched each other’s daemons?”

“And I’m regretting it already.” Ari sighed. 

“Guess what that means?” Three spoke up excitedly. “We are soulmates! Meant to be!”

“Oh great!” One glared at Five and Six. “First you two. Now it’s Two and Three. Are you  _ all _ pairing up?!”

Six shrugged. “I mean, we’re pretty sure that Billy and Blaine are soulmates too. Blaine keeps denying it though.”

“I don’t deny it!” Seven complained, making everyone - including their daemons - yell out a ‘yes you do’ back at him.

One let out a frustrated groan. “I can’t believe this!”

“Tell you what,” Six snickered, enjoying how badly he was reacting, “you’ve got some supernatural soulmate-detecting skills, man. How’d you manage to find not one, but  _ three  _ pairs?”

“Don’t talk to me. I hate you. All of you.”

\-----

Dr. Coulter sighed when Billy was once again forced to kneel in front of her desk. “You again? You’ve become quite the headache here, what with all your fighting and escape attempts. I thought you promised to behave.”

He smirked, unapologetic. “Well you know what they say, ‘never trust a Gyptian’.”

As she stared down at him, unimpressed by his comebacks, her face was marred by the ugly frown she wore. “Well it’s about time you learn there are consequences for your actions.” Coulter looked to the birdcage and stared thoughtfully at the tit. 

Mena held her breath, fully expecting to be separated from her Billy once again - fully expecting to be grabbed and roughly ‘petted’ by the woman who had no regard for taboo nor what it did to whomever was connected to that daemon. Beside her, Billy shrank back a little, and she was suddenly filled with so much rage and disgust at the woman for what she did to them - for what she made her Billy feel.

But what happened next was much, much worse. Coulter’s mouth grew into a wicked grin. Instead of reaching for the cage, she said, “I think I’d like a new pet. It’s been awfully dull in this wasteland. Some pretty birdsong would be lovely!”

Before Billy could say anything, she nodded at the guards behind him. “Take him to the Intercision room.”

The guards dragged him forcefully through the long, winding hallways, and threw him to the ground in front of a large machine that looked like a futuristic cage. The cage was sectioned into two equal halves, that were barely big enough to hold a grown man, by a metal mesh barrier in between. It had clearly been made for children in mind, and the thought horrified Billy to no end. All around the room were beady-eyed scientists hunched over instrument panels, staring at gauges and meters and numbers.

Dr. Coulter gazed at her machine with pride. “Tell me, do you know what an Intercision is?”

Billy tried one more time to fight off the guards. When he couldn’t break free, he spat at her. “Go fuck yourself!”

She tsked. “Still so disobedient.” With a wave of her hand, another guard came up and kicked him in the stomach, making him double over in pain.

“Well? You know I don’t like to repeat myself.”

“Yes, I know what it is!” He gasped, starting to tremble with fear for what was to come.  _ Blaine, where the fuck are you?  _ Did One decide he was too much trouble and to leave him behind for good? What if they thought he was dead?

Dr. Coulter looked down at him with a sinister smile. “Good. And the best part is that my machine is already working quite perfectly with children and teenagers, so it’s about time we worked our way up age-wise, starting with you.”

From out of nowhere, Prenter scurried into the room and began to whisper furiously into Coulter’s ear. From the look on her face, it was bad.

“Detailed notes, as always.” She reminded the scientists before leaving with Prenter.

\-----

Billy’s father was somehow simultaneously exactly and not at all what they had expected him to be like. The man walked in with a cheerful smile, a European starling on his shoulder, and an intellect that could put One to shame. He was joined by two dozen other captains - a diverse group of people of varying ages, genders, and races, but all willing to risk their lives for one of their own.

“Now,” he said as he carefully eyed the map of the Gobbler compound, “you were telling us you had a plan to get my son back?”

“Um, yeah- yes, I do. Sir.” One swallowed hard. For some reason, he suddenly felt anxiety creeping up his throat. Despite the jovial attitude, there was this aura of nobility surrounding the Gyptian, and One felt the need to straighten up and show more respect - a feeling he never had before, back when he had to introduce his latest inventions to greedy investors and politicians. “So, us Ghosts will be going in to find Four. No offense, but we’ll find him faster than you guys can. I know the maps like the back of my hand. From your end, we’ll need two things - someone to plant these bombs, and a distraction. A big one.”

To put things simply, they needed three teams. The first and biggest group would serve as the bait, risking their lives to distract the guards and the panserbjorne, allowing the other two teams to get into the compound. The second team, a small band of Gyptians from the Goldfinch fleet, was tasked with planting One’s explosives throughout the compound. The last team were the Ghosts, who would be going into the main building to find their friend.

The distraction was a thing of beauty. Taking advantage of air currents, the main team positioned themselves upwind and carefully floated three dozen kites over the compound downwind. Three dozen kites, each carrying a small IED.

“Kites! Fucking kites. Can you believe it?” Three guffawed as they watched fire rain down on the Gobblers’ security forces, lighting up the night sky and spooking the panserbjorne into a frenzy.

Ten seconds later, the Gyptians made themselves known. They screamed out their fury at the people who’ve stolen their children for decades, before doling out their own vicious brand of justice by shooting down and picking off the confused guards one by one. With all the attention fully on the Gyptians, it was all too easy for the other two groups to sneak into the compound.

Inside, the second team broke away, their agility and athleticism making it easier for them to get to where they were needed.

The Ghosts were halfway to the brig when the hallways were suddenly flooded in a sickly yellow glow, stopping them in their tracks. A growing electric hum filled the air.

One felt his heart drop when he recognized it. “I know that sound.” Immediately, he turned around and dashed back up the hallway, forcing the others to run after him. 

“Wha- where are you going?” Blaine caught up to their leader and tried to press for answers.

“There’s an intercision going on!” He yelled as he rounded another corner, remembering the quickest route from all the times he studied the latest building plans.

“What about Billy?"

“Doesn’t matter. He’ll be fine for now! But this can’t happen to anyone, ever again!”

Seven nodded, silently trusting One’s decision.

As they ran for the Intercision room and the fighting outside grew in intensity, nobody was there to notice a small truck making its escape from the back of the compound.

\-----

Billy kicked and punched at the metal barrier separating him from Philomena, to no avail. Dr. Coulter’s machine was well-built and it would take more than ill-balanced blows by a man lying on his side to knock it down. Tears ran freely down his face in fat droplets, forming a small puddle on the floor as he watched the wall of electricity slowly come down between him and his beloved daemon. There was nothing he could do but wait for the bitter end. Even Mena had given up, stopping her panicked flitting in exchange for sitting as close as she could to Billy - as if that could stop them from being separated.

He felt like his whole body was on fire while his heart was caught in an ice cold grip that just pulled and pulled, trying to rip him apart. Their bond started to become visible as it was squeezed narrower and narrower, the threads of dust fraying between them - soon to be torn apart. Billy could feel his energy leaving him, and soon enough he could barely hold his head up. Philomena already collapsed and lay motionless, save for the barely-there up-down movements of her tiny chest as she struggled to breathe. 

“Please don’t do this.” He weakly begged the scientists who continued to watch the pair with cold, calculating eyes. “Please stop.” 

It took everything he had just to keep his eyes on his daemon, trying with all his might to keep her with him in some small way. He couldn’t bear to have Philomena leave his sight for even an instant, but his eyelids were growing heavy and his eyesight was blurring. She was the last thing he saw before Dr. Coulter’s horrid, daemon-separating machine dragged him into unconsciousness.


End file.
